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Subject:
From:
"Kathleen G. Auerbach" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 2 Sep 1995 21:43:00 CDT
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I think this is another instance of assuming that ALL breastfeeding babies
are night nursers/wakers and that non-breastfed babies are not.  This is
not an all-or-none thing.  At one point, my son was sleeping 14 hrs a day
and growing like a weed.  I attributed it to my COPIOUS milk supply (he
continued to choke and sneeze out excess for 3 months!) and that he got
lots of cream. On the other hand, after he weaned (nearly 2 years old), he
often woke at night and it was not because he was hungry. Rather, it
coincided with tooth eruption. I think we assume that breastfeeding causes
night waking when it may be any number of other things that also occur
frequently, particulary in the first two years of life, such as teething
and that ticklish feeling int he gums that can drive someone nuts (I still
remember what it felt like when one of my wisdom teeth attempted to come
in--only two did and they had to be pulled; hence my lack of wisdom!).

As for non-breastfed kids, some wake and others do not.

And yes, I do think that non-hormonally-connected mothers are more likely
to let their babies cry until they stop doing that at night. They simply do
not get the hormonal "push" to stay physically close to their babies, and
in a society that is bonkers for making kids "independent" getting them to
sleep at night ASAP goes hand in hand with that independence business.
(which doesn't really work, but most new parents think it does). And they
do not always wait til 6 months to try that, either. One doc in our area
recommends this approach so that the baby is sleeping through the night by
6 weeks! (Wanna guess how many of those babies are weaned?)

Another factor is how much of night waking is for reasons other than hunger
or teething. In other words, when mom and dad get "cozy," does child's
radar recongize this and waken? I think there are lots of reasons kids
waken. The trick, to me, is how to enable everyone to sleep as much as they
need in spite of the fact that we all waken periodically, but most of us do
not remember it?

Anyone else have thoughts on this?




Def. of LC service: "We are all faced with a series of great opportunities
brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."
Kathleen G. Auerbach,PhD, IBCLC (Homewood, IL)- [log in to unmask]

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